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BNK48: Girls Don’t Cry, dir. Nawapol<br />
Thamrongrattanarit, Thailand 2019, 100’<br />
Twenty-six girls of different ages sit alone<br />
in front of the camera and talk about their lives<br />
in the Thai girl supergroup BNK48. An intimate<br />
portrait of the adolescence of modern teenagers,<br />
a penetrating insight into the phenomenon of idol<br />
culture and the entertainment industry in Asia.<br />
Furie / Hai Phuong, dir. Le Van Kiet, Vietnam<br />
2019, 98’<br />
Hai Phuong wants to forget her criminal past,<br />
while raising her daughter in the countryside.<br />
However, when her daughter gets kidnapped,<br />
Hai Phuong will have to remind herself how<br />
to fight in order to reach the people responsible.<br />
The familiar genre patterns gain new energy<br />
thanks to great fighting scenes and Veronica<br />
Ngo furiously kicking her opponents' asses.<br />
Jinpa / Zhuang Si Le Yi Zhi Yang, dir. Pema<br />
Tseden, China 2018, 86’<br />
Jinpa is a solitary truck driver conquering<br />
the harsh Tibetan landscape. This day will<br />
be different than usual, when he offers a ride<br />
to a mysterious man who confesses he is going<br />
to kill someone. Built from beautiful frames,<br />
saturated with soothing melancholy, the film<br />
is a mystical meditation on human fate, life<br />
and death.<br />
Nina Wu, dir. Midi Z, Taiwan, Malaysia, Burma<br />
2019, 103'<br />
polish flavours<br />
Cinema at the crossroads<br />
of cultures - dialogues between<br />
Polish and <strong>Asian</strong> film worlds<br />
The Taste of Pho, dir. Mariko Bobrik, Poland,<br />
Germany 2019, 84’<br />
Mr. Long, a pho master, has to face<br />
the demanding requirements of a new restaurant<br />
owner; mastering new culinary skills however<br />
seems easy compared to the challenge of raising<br />
a smart, ten-year-old daughter on his own.<br />
The Polish-Vietnamese story, embellished<br />
with frames inspired by Yasujiro Ozu's cinema,<br />
about a small family, closeness and alienation,<br />
longing and a stubborn pursuit of one’s goals.<br />
of professional and marital frustrations takes<br />
a spontaneous journey back home: a risky<br />
idea, but perhaps the best one? Black humour<br />
and unexpected emotions in the brilliant debut<br />
of the Japanese female director.<br />
One Cut of the Dead, / Kamera o tomeru na!,<br />
dir. Shinichiro Ueda, Japan 2017, 96’<br />
Another film about an undead epidemic?<br />
Nothing new, but the grumpy director disappears<br />
somewhere on the set and the film crew... starts<br />
biting on each other. Micro-budget production,<br />
about which it is best to know as little<br />
as possible before the screening. "One Cut<br />
of the Dead" became an unexpected hit in Japan<br />
attracting an audience of over two million people.<br />
Flowers of Evil / Aku no hana , reż. Noboru<br />
Iguchi, Japan 2019, 127’<br />
Takao, fascinated by his classmate, steals<br />
her gym suit from the locker room. However,<br />
he is seen by Sawa, who will not hesitate<br />
to use this compromising knowledge for evil<br />
purposes... Cruelty of youth and love intrigues<br />
with Baudelaire in the background.<br />
Going the Distance / Kazoku e, dir. Yujiro<br />
Harumoto, Japan 2016, 117’<br />
A taciturn boxing coach, his nice fiancée<br />
and a childhood friend in need of support: painful<br />
dilemmas of adulthood and breaking through<br />
emotional blockades, which proves more difficult<br />
than fighting in the ring. Mature, moving picture,<br />
bitterly portraying contemporary Japanese reality.<br />
Fly me to Saitama / Tonde Saitama, dir. Hideki<br />
Takeuchi, Japan 2019, 107’<br />
The eternal struggle between Tokyo and provincial<br />
Saitama gains new momentum in this wildly<br />
colourful film adaptation of the popular<br />
manga: the film does justice to the bold energy<br />
and aesthetic excesses of its 80's prototype,<br />
and the daring sense of humor is perfectly<br />
transferred across cultural boundaries.<br />
Born Bone Born / Senkotsu, dir. Toshiyuki Teruya<br />
(Gori), Japan 2018, 111’<br />
A surprising comedy drama with a funeral<br />
in the background. Okinawa's traditions<br />
and complicated family relations, a film devoid<br />
of pathos, as salty and sunny as the sea breeze<br />
on the distant island of Aguni, where the film<br />
was shot.<br />
horror<br />
One Cut of the Dead / Kamera o tomeru na!,<br />
dir. Shinichiro Ueda, Japan 2017, 96’<br />
The unfulfilled actress gets a breakthrough<br />
role in a stylish super-production, but the road<br />
to success leads through humiliation,<br />
and the tense atmosphere on the set awakens<br />
long-forgotten traumas. A visually electrifying<br />
psychological thriller about a woman fighting<br />
for her dreams, surprising with its oneiric form<br />
and striking with its message.<br />
Throw Down / Yau doh lung fu bong, dir. Johnnie<br />
To, Hong Kong 2004, 95'<br />
A young master of judo, a former master of judo<br />
and a mysterious girl from Taiwan... Their paths<br />
will cross unexpectedly, giving them a chance<br />
to escape from lives in a limbo. A beautiful urban<br />
ballad, a masterpiece by Johnny To. The only<br />
chance to experience this pure cinematic gem<br />
on the big screen.<br />
japan: out<br />
of focus<br />
Young Japanese cinema –<br />
new directors, bold aesthetics,<br />
independent perspectives<br />
and the madness of pop culture<br />
at its best. The main theme of this<br />
showcase is Japanese peripheries<br />
and everything that escapes<br />
mainstream narratives.<br />
And Your Bird Can Sing / Kimi no tori wa utaeru,<br />
dir. Sho Miyake, Japan 2018, 106’<br />
See the description in the section: New <strong>Asian</strong><br />
Cinema<br />
Demolition Girl / JK ereji, dir. Genta Matsugami,<br />
Japan 2018, 88’<br />
A teenage girl burdened with the responsibility<br />
of supporting her family is looking for ways<br />
to make ends meet - one of those ways will<br />
lead her into a very strange corner of the erotic<br />
industry. An unconventional story about inner<br />
strength and the fight against adversities<br />
with the charismatic Aya Kitai in the leading role.<br />
Mr. Long / Ryu san, dir. SABU, Japan 2017, 129’<br />
A paid killer with a gloomy look, a heroineaddict<br />
lost in life and a disarmingly charming<br />
boy. A surprisingly harmonious combination<br />
of impressive gangster cinema and warm family<br />
movie, enriched with appetizing reflection<br />
on Japanese and Taiwanese cuisine.<br />
The Gun / Ju, dir. Masaharu Take, Japan 2018, 97’<br />
See the description in the section:<br />
Japan: Out of Focus<br />
Krasue: Inhuman Kiss / Sang Krasue,<br />
dir. Sitisiri Mongkolsiri, Thailand 2019, 122’<br />
Thailand in the 1940s. Brutal murders of animals<br />
occur frequently in the village. A young girl<br />
wakes up in increasingly strange circumstances,<br />
and the amount of blood on her bed can<br />
no longer be explained by menstruation. Gothic<br />
romance meets with the folklore of Southeast<br />
Asia in Sitisiri Mongkolsiri's promising debut.<br />
The Odd Family: Zombie on Sale / Gimyohan<br />
Gajok, dir. Lee Min-jae, South Korea 2019, 112'<br />
Will zombies finally infect the whole world?<br />
It won't be easy if they start the invasion<br />
at the petrol station of the eccentric Park family,<br />
deep in the Korean countryside... Full of energy<br />
Lin Min-jae plays with conventions, whilst<br />
unceremoniously breaking its dogmas, funny<br />
and scary at the same time.<br />
Blue Hour / Buru awa ni buttobasu, dir. Yuko<br />
Hakota, Japan 2019, 92’<br />
A thirty-year-old woman in the midst<br />
An unobtrusive student accidentally finds<br />
a gun by the road: it becomes an amulet<br />
which gives him self-confidence - at least<br />
in the beginning. A stylish nihilistic morality play<br />
in black and white, with nods to Dostoyevsky<br />
and the French new wave.<br />
Tumbbad, dir. Rahi Anil Barve, India 2018, 104’<br />
See the description in the section: <strong>Asian</strong> Cinerama
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